Beefcake in the Home of Happiness

In The Rocky Horror Picture Show and its sequel-of-sorts, Shock Treatment, Brad and Janet are from Denton, a "typical American city."  But which Denton?

Fans claim Denton, Ohio, because Janet is shown with a copy of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, but there is no Denton in Ohio (the exterior shots were all filmed in England).







Richard O'Brien probably had no particular city in mind when he wrote the RHPS script, but he scouted out location for Shock Treatment in Denton, Texas before the 1979-80 Screen Actors Guild strike forced him to move the entire film onto a sound stage.

Denton, Texas residents are proud of their association with RHPS (and other films with a Denton connection, such as What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Benji).  It's been playing almost continuously since 1975, and scholars at the University of North Texas write papers on it.


There's not much else to do in Denton, population 113,000, snuggled in the no man's land between Dallas and Fort Worth, so everybody goes there for gay life,leaving one gay bar, a monthy gay night at the Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio, and a Denton Pride planning organization.  There are two colleges with drama and musical performances, and high schools with sports teams.

Lots of high schools.  Denton is surrounded by tiny, ritzy suburbs, like Double Oak ("The Best Little City in Texas!)








Flower Mound.  Imagine spending your entire adult life telling people "I'm from Flower Mound, Texas."















Lantana, "an upscale census-designated place and master-planned community originally developed by Republic Property Group."

Quite a town slogan.








Lewisville, which has one of the largest Burmese communities in Texas, although this wrestler isn't.

















And Rhome.

See also: Why Do Gay Men Like the Rocky Horror Picture Show.; Shock Treatment